Desire to break intimate ties finally — perhaps this will prevent problems later (1,6,2,4)
I believe the answer is:
a stitch in time
'break intimate ties finally perhaps this will prevent problems later' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'desire' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'desire' could be 'itch' (itch is a kind of desire) and 'itch' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for a stitch in time that I've seen before include "Nine saver?" , "Something that proverbially saves nine" , "prompt repair" .)